Leaving home again……..

So I had a great trip to OKC and really enjoyed spending time with my family and in old hang outs. My and my Brendon!!!!!!!

  

My and my Wicked Kid Mary!!! Next stop for us….LADY GAGA!!!!!

Brendon about to get hit by Erik and he doesn’t even care.

Who can identify these two hoodlums?

My KIDS!!!!!!

Bottom Row: Erik, Brendon and Heather

Top Row: Me Mary and Shaci

I had such a great trip to Oklahoma and I’m looking forward to coming back and spending time with each of my kids!

Enjoying home………..

Merry Christmas (well, Merry Monday after Christmas) and Happy New Year.  We have been enjoying time with my family and time in Oklahoma City even though it was blanketed with 14.1 inches of snow just prior to our arrival.

The amazing beauty of Colorado as we were driving to Oklahoma.

The Cross at Groom, Texas just outside of Amarillo. 

A beautiful cloudy Texas evening sun!

After one terrible night in lodging on base we opted to stay in Residence Inn since it’s such a great hotel.

 

My youngest niece Kaitlyn, with “Sprout” Brookelynn (Brittany’s baby) on her lap, my sister Tammy, my oldest niece Brittany, me and my Mom.

Sprout helping Brendon play DJ Hero!!

Kaitlyn reading Sprout’s book to her while she hangs on to her new Teddy.

 

The snow outside the door of our hotel.  It’s at least 18'” deep!! We don’t normally see this much snow in Oklahoma City so navigating around the city has been quite a chore!!

They dozed the snow off of our hotel parking lot so there were clear spaces to park and drive but they left HUGE mounds of snow!

Bowling for Soup………..

December 19th Brendon and Mary, his friend, went to see a group called Bowling for Soup.  If you listen to any pop music you would know them best from the song 1985.  I have come to know and love this group even more than just that song because of Brendon and his friends.  They are a quirky fun group that believes in having fun, telling it like it is, and entertaining people.  This particular concert was at a small venue in Oklahoma City and the kids got their tickets signed by the band. I am insanely jealous that I was not able to attend this concert with the kids. BUMMER!! They even had a chance to have pictures taken with the band!

Mary, Erik and Brendon

Mary, Gary and Brendon

Mary, Chris and Brendon

Mary, Jaret and Brendon

Now my favorite Bowling for Soup memory is four years ago at Brendon’s 16th birthday.  Bowling for Soup was having a concert at Frontier City’s Amphitheater.  So I took Brendon and his friends, all girls, to see the concert.  As they sang 1985 it dawned on me that 20 years prior, it was 1985, I was turning 16 and I was working for that theme park.  I just found it ironic that 20 years later I would find myself back at that same theme park listening to a group sing about the time when I was working there. I am so glad they had a great time!

Enjoying……….

Christmas is fast approaching and as I look outside there is snow on the ground and sun in the sky.   It’s a beautiful time to be in Colorado.  I love how the sun bounces off the snow making everything brighter.  It a great reminder that anything can be conquered when you have the right outlook.  As for me and my next conquest, I try not to think about how soon he will be taking his leave of me.  I am just enjoying every second I can with him.  I haven’t even begun counting down the days because in truth I don’t want to know.  Right now I am enjoying the simplicity of Salida.    It’s a quiet sleepy little town without much to do.  I finished my Christmas shopping.  Plus we got to eat at Texas Road House! OMG! YUM!! I have so forgotten what it was like to eat at a real restaurant! Three days before Christmas and I’ve spent the morning on the phone with my kiddo (I miss you Brendon), researching my astrological chart, fixing Ma’s cord for her drapery rod, and putting together a new grill/smoker for smoked Turkey on Christmas day! I am blessed!

Day 3 Traveling……..

Today was the third and final day on the road, well, for at least a few days. It was a short drive of about four hours from Grand Junction to Salida, Colorado.  But it was so pleasant to see that the sun was out! Even if it was bitterly cold.  The scenery is so amazing that it makes up for the cold, especially since I was all snuggled up in my blanket in the car.  It is great to be with Ma.  She is such an amazing woman and I do adore her.    I don’t know that I would ever want to live here on a permanent basis but a few days of peace and quiet is always welcome in my books.  I am glad that I won’t be getting back into the car for a few days and I am glad that our trip went easily and safely.  Thank you to all my friends and family for our well wishes while we were on  the road!

Traveling……….

Today the road lies ahead of us long and cold.  The snow covers the landscape and the car covers the miles.  I enjoy remebering the  travels I have had with Ginger. It’s bittersweet as we stay in the same hotels I have previously stayed in with her. For the ten plus years I have been together she always traveled with me and I miss her.  I would love to be able to tell you that today was as inspirational as yesterday was.  The truth is that I found myself with a major migraine and giving myself in the car as we passed through Utah.  I slept most of the day  off and on.  I’m afraid that I wasn’t much of a companion.  Watching the snow go by my window as I traveled through Idaho, Utah and Colorado has made me grateful for the fact that I brought my Korean mink blanket with me in the car. I have stayed cozy and warm while the cold flies by my window.  I have been posting updates on both Facebook and Twitter throughout our journey.  The amount of warmth I have received back has been tremendous.  I have loved everyone’s support of our safety and well wishes for our journey.  The journey from Washington feels much more heartwarming than the journey to Washington.  It’s good to be coming home. Wherever home is.

Leaving………..

I wake this morning to find the world frosty and crystal covered which is great for Christmas morning when you have nothing more to do than to open presents.   However, since I am traveling I do not find this appealing.  The hope is that I can traverse the mountain passes with little or no difficulties.  I do find the crunch under my feet quite a fitting way to leave Washington. I find that the dreariness of the weather here dampens my soul. I’ve seen the beauty of the area, the blue of the water, the colors of the leaves in fall, the majesty of Mount Ranier.  Those things I will miss.   Yet, there is not enough here to make me whole. I’ve missed a friendly “Hi” in passing, a large glass of sweet tea, the whole hearted embrace of our American Military. I grew up in a place where we were all allowed to have our own opinion and we are respected for having one even if we don’t agree with it.  I grew up understanding that our military men were to be respected and admired for their duty to country.  It was not uncommon for a stranger to thank the man in uniform as he was pumping gas in his car or any other mundane task.  I miss a community that celebrates the returning home of our military

So today, as we set out on this journey I find a smile in my spirit and a tug at my heart.  There is an adventure waiting and I am not sure where it will lead me. The uncertainty of life has become very real for me and I no longer know what mu future will hold. The travel is easy and the sun is out as we cross from Washington into 

Oregon.  The drive to Portland is easy and enjoyable. The Columbia River our constant companion as we  pass Portland and head east through Oregon.  The scenery through Oregon is beautiful and it reminds me how lucky I am to live in such an amazing country. The snow covered ground really brings home the fact that old man 

winter as set in for the long haul here in the northwest. I was hoping for a spectacular sunset on our drive through the ups and downs of Oregon but the clouds laying heavy and foreboding has kept the colors our of grasp.  We did manage to catch a tiny glimpse of pink as the day turned to night.  This drive has been miraculous and amazing and I lucky to experience it.

Almost leaving……..

I know that it’s cold most places around the country right now.  But the cold here just seems miserable.  Wait, maybe it’s everything about here that’s miserable.  The movers have boxed all of the things and have taken the boxes. I have to wonder how many things are in those boxes that I will end up wishing I hadn’t packed?!!?! Oh, well! I am sure I can either live without it or buy a new one.  It’s odd to think about the fact that I am not going to see my things again for at least 10 months.  When you stop and look at this differently, I will be homeless effective tomorrow.  Now, I have made a lot of moves in my life and I am by no means about to slow down now; but, this is the first time I have every been homeless. I will be living out of a suitcase, floating from place to place.I have come to realize in the past few days that I really and truly have not been happy here.  I have been really miserable and I miss the me that isn’t miserable.  I am quirky, perky, and love to have fun.  I have really missed that part of me. So I decided that I would just leave the sad, depressed version of me up here. I am certain run into the old me along the way and I’ll pick her up! She’s much more fun.  So I decided to help find the old me by attending a Lady Gaga concert with my Mary (a friend of my son’s who has become like a daughter to me). This will give me something amazing and exciting to look forward to  instead of focusing on the fact that my life has just been turned upside down. I know I have a lot of friends that would love to be in my position to be able to travel for a year and just go do whatever their heart desires.  So for all of my friends that can’t go I promise I will go and live it up for you.  I will then share all my details here in the blog so you may live vicariously through me.  There are so many of you that I am planning on coming to visit next year.  I will tell you that you better get your dancing shoes on because I am ready to party!!!!

It’s time to stop focusing on being sick.  I know that what I have won’t kill me and I’ve been living with the symptoms for years now.  So what if I have to do things differently than other people. For instance, I got four hours of sleep last night, even though I am taking a sleeping pill. Obviously, the nerves in my body just don’t want me to have a normal sleeping pattern.  This symptom started when I was about 15  so I’ve lived about 25 years with it.  I will sleep when my body allows.  So if I come visit you and need a nap at 2 in the afternoon, you’ll just have to understand.  There are occasions when my body won’t let me sleep at all. Eh, such is life.

So get ready for my visit because we are going to have a great time. In the meantime, I have a mammogram to get to. Both my Mom and my Aunt Sue are breast cancer survivors, so mammograms and self breast exams are something I pay due diligence to.  As should every other woman I know.  Early detection helped save their lives and their breasts! 

Packing……..

Tonight the last night in the duplex together.  It’s bittersweet. I have no idea how to pack for a year on the road.  I don’t know what I am going to need I don't know completely where I will be and when I will be there

.So instead of stressing about I just figured that if I didn’t pack something I needed I will just buy a new one. After all that’s how I got it in the first place. I know I am packing the really important things like my sewing machine, my cricut and, of course, my pens!!! These are just my really important ones.  I know it’s odd to be so attached to PENS! But I love writing snail mail, cards and journaling. 

Let’s not forget my medications. They almost need their own zip code. Such is life when you have a chronic illness. This is what I live with every day. Medication, Symptoms, Pain, Nerves, blah, blah, blah.  I’ve always been very open about being sick but seeing that picture on my blog is really making me realize that I am not doing as well as I hoped to be. Especially since I had to wait for my nerves to settle down just so I could quit shaking enough to take the picture. Hhhhhmmmpffff. This is certainly going to put a bulge in my suitcase when traveling next year. But it is simply what I must do in order to stay healthy.  However, I will not let this stop me from traveling!!

Plus, I must also have all my gadgets with me. My camera, my laptop, my kindle, my terabyte of external storage, my cell phone, my mp3 and so on. I admit it, I am a tech junkie.  I love being connected to everyone all the time.  However, I can manage to sit through a movie with out them….although, last night I went to see Armored and I considered playing Tetris on my phone.  That movie was sloooooooow.  There’s so many fun things to play with, such as Facebook, Twitter, text messages and so on.  

Receiving

Yesterday, Christmas came early at my house. I received a book that I have anxiously been awaiting. It was sent to me from the author himself from Ireland and was signed! I feel like a kid in a candy store!!!! It’s the first book I’ve ever had signed directly to me! I am so terribly excited.  I should be getting the house ready for the movers but instead………………………..



My brain is working overtime these days. I suppose it’s all the changes that I am going thru. So poetry is just something that’s happening right now.  It gets stuck in my head…..so I just write to give it a voice and get rid of it.



In another life,
In another time,
If life could be different,
If I could be the same.
In a body that’s healthy,
In a mind that’s not sick,
If life was a fairy tale,
If I were a princess.
In bright, bold colors,
In red, green and yellow,
If life were a painting,
If I were a vision.
In a simple story,
In pages of a book,
If life was easy,
If I was free.